Gov. Christine Todd Whitman yesterday signed into law a series of bills intended to insure that convicted sex offenders get treatment before they are released if there is a likelihood that they will repeat their crimes.

One bill allows state officials to commit to institutions offenders who suffer from mental problems less serious than those that had been required for commitment, if they are deemed likely to be recidivists, said Guy F. Talarico, a Republican of Paramus, who co-sponsored the bill.

Another bill requires that sex offenders be willing and able to participate in treatment before they are admitted to the state's Adult Diagnostic and Treatment Center in Avenel, one of the few correctional centers in the country built specifically to treat convicted sex offenders, said Assemblyman James W. Holzapfel, a Republican of Toms River, who co-sponsored the bill.

Those unwilling to accept treatment would be assigned to standard jails or prisons, he said.

Under a third bill signed into law, sex offenders will be eligible for parole only if they demonstrate substantial progress in their treatment. The current standard requires offenders only to be capable of making ''an acceptable social adjustment in the community.''

The bills stem from recommendations by state panels established to study Avenel and the larger issue of treatment for the criminally insane.